February 2016

Last week, two key leaders in the nation’s most populous state – California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Orange County Registrar Neal Kelley, also president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials – co-authored an op-ed calling on the Golden State to address the growing need to fund upgrades to the state’s aging voting technology.

The new electionlineWeekly features a primary season curtain-raiser from Mindy Moretti on what to watch as what she calls “the circus” comes to more states just about every Tuesday from now until June.

Tom Hicks is the new Chair of the Election Assistance Commission and, while litigation over proof-of-citizenship has dominated the news lately, he spoke to the Center for Public Integrity about the full range of the agency’s mission.

The presidential nomination campaign is underway and voters have begun to speak. As they do, some candidates don’t hear their names often enough and leave the race. That means many ballots bear the names of candidates who are no longer running … and these “ghost ships” can be a challenge for voters and election officials alike.

Today, the DOJ took the unusual step of consenting to an injunction against the federal government in the ongoing dispute over the addition of state-specific instructions regarding of proof-of-citizenship requirements on the federal registration form. Accompanying that request is a declaration from EAC Director Brian Newby which lays out the process and rationale behind his decision to approve the instructions.

Fairfax County, VA will close schools on March 1, citing the prospect for potentially-overwhelming turnout in that day’s presidential primary. Closing schools for voting has been recommended and is often discussed, both because of turnout and security concerns. Regardless, election offices and school systems must work together to ensure that voters and students don’t get in one another’s way on Election Day.

This week’s electionlineWeekly features a guest column by “civic designers” Whitney Quesenbery and Dana Chisnell, who recently released two new editions of their popular (and invaluable) Field Guides for Ensuring Voter Intent. Whitney, Dana and the Guides are changing election administration by bringing design knowledge to election offices nationwide and showing how to apply it in everyday practice.

NPR’s Pam Fessler – a top-notch reporter who’s also a true election geek – has a new piece looking at the growing push (including from President Obama) for automatic registration, and the partisan pushback it’s already creating.

Wisconsin could soon be the latest state to enact online voter registration – but unlike most other states where the change enjoys bipartisan support, an accompanying law change has once again generated fierce partisan debate.

A coalition of plaintiffs has brought suit against EAC Executive Director Brian Newby and the agency seeking to roll back the recent letters adding proof of citizenship instructions to the federal registration form in three states. It’s an important case on both the substance as well as on the future policymaking relationship between the EAC and its staff.

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